Tri-Council

Finding strength in unity.

Since 2011, the Municipal District has participated with the Sawridge First Nation and the Town of Slave Lake in what is called the Tri-Council. The Tri-Council is a body made up of all the elected officials from the First Nation, Town, and MD. Following the wildfires of 2011, it was important to ensure that recovery efforts evolved in a positive and coordinated fashion.

With the assistance of Alberta Municipal Affairs, the MD and First Nation, the Town adopted the Tri-Council and CAO Secretariat Governance Protocol. This protocol’s purpose is to provide guidance for how the Tri-Council and CAO Secretariat conduct business, and in so doing, ensure consistency, predictability, transparency, and accountability.

The CAO Secretariat is made up of the Chief Administrative Officers of the Town and the Municipal District, and the Executive Director of the First Nation, to act as the administration to the Tri-Council. Novel to the protocol is its use of consensus-based decision making, where consensus is achieved when the elected officials of the Tri-Council (in attendance at a meeting) can “live with” the decision taken or endorsed. As a result of Tri-Council governance, the strategies and projects of the Lesser Slave Lake Regional Wildfire Recovery Plan have been implemented.

Tri-Council is now focused on strategic regional cooperation that serves to capitalize on the Slave Lake vicinity as a regional centre in north central Alberta. The focus is critical to ensure that health, school, government, and key business entities choose to come, stay, and grow in our region. Another evolving purpose is to deal with topical matters that extend beyond municipal/First Nation corporate boundaries, such as emergency management, economic development, and regional wellness activities.

It is important to understand that Tri-Council’s existence does not supplant any of the partner’s autonomy and statutory powers to act as a Municipal District, Town or First Nation. By working together, the region will become a stronger and better place to live and work.

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Words from the Tri-Council Architects

The Tri-Council is determined to build on its four-pillar foundation of People, Reconstruction, Environment and Economy. Our vision is to not only return the region to the way it was before disaster struck, but to ensure we are safer, stronger and better positioned for future growth. This unique congress has turned disparate political entities into strategic partners, close allies and fast friends."

Reeve Murray Kerik
MD of Lesser Slave River

"Through the Tri-Council we have learned that our overarching stewardship of the collective good of the region must trump the specific mandates of the Town, the MD and the Sawridge First Nation. This is not always easy, but it is essential. There's a benefit for all of us."

Mayor Tyler Warman
Town of Slave Lake

Muster your courage; take that leap of faith. Neighbouring municipalities and other levels of government needn't actually work in silos or at cross-purposes — they are resources of knowledge, strength and capital. They can become your best allies."

Chief Roland Twinn
Sawridge First Nation


 

Life, Work and Leisure in Lesser Slave River